Super Bowl snacks: On the wings of sweet, or peppery, victory

By Jim HillibishMore Content Now

Wednesday

Jan 29, 2014 at 3:14 PMJan 29, 2014 at 3:14 PM

Wings for a crowd? Time to plan for Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2.

Chicken wings are primed for their usual price bomb. They're already high for such tiny morsels of meat. Super Bowl party and bar-hopping vastly boost sales of this product that once was tossed as garbage.

The wing thing is totally powered by watching games on TV, if you don't mind a greasy couch. Cooks turn them out in hot batches to fans weary of cheese logs and salsa dips. Wings are surefire finger food, easily consumed by the plate. A pile of gnawed wing bones in front of you is a thing of glory.

There is no authentic or original wing recipe despite pretenders online (38.9 million Google hits). That's the beauty of home-cooked wings. Fried or baked, peppery or sweet, they can be whatever you, not some five-star chef, want them to be.

Our recipe addresses the problem of serving a hungry crowd all at once. The wings are batch fried and then loaded en masse into a skillet of melted butter and spices to reheat.

Bleu-chesse dressing and celery sticks remain obligatory.

Our recipe cuts through the mysteries of wings and overly complex prep work. We can brag it's a winner, even if our teams are not. Feel free to experiment and build your own wing-master reputation.

DAMN GOOD WINGS

. 4 dozen chicken wings

. 1 or 2 sticks butter

. 3 T hot pepper sauce

. Cayenne pepper to taste

. Peanut oil

Prep the wings by washing under cold water. Cut off the tips and discard. Thoroughly dry - a must to prevent foaming.

Melt butter in your largest skillet. In Buffalo, cast iron is a must. Add hot sauce and a dusting of cayenne. For less pepper heat, cut back on the cayenne. Cover and turn off heat. Don't let the butter brown.

Deep fry the wings in batches of six to eight in the peanut oil until they brown nicely. If no fryer, use a skillet, turning once. Fry about 10 minutes. Or lightly coat with oil and bake on cookie sheets for 1 hour at 375 F until crisp, turning once. Drain and keep warm.

Reheat the butter. Add cooked wings and stir for 5 minutes. Drain and serve warm with a large pack of paper napkins.

Note: For sweet wings, cut the pepper sauce to a few drips, omit the cayenne and add 1 cup honey to the butter sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 clove garlic, minced.

OBLIGATORY BLEU-CHEESE DRESSING

. 1 T white vinegar

. 1/4 cup half and half, room temperature

. 1 cup mayonnaise

. 3 T onions, diced

. 1 cup fresh parsley, minced

. 1 t dried dill weed

. 1 clove garlic, diced

. 1/2 cup bleu cheese, crumbled

. 3 T lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Combine vinegar and half and half. Wait a few minutes for it to curdle. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate covered for at least two hours. Dribble on hot wings or serve on as a dipper.

Jim Hillibish is a columnist at The Repository in Canton, Ohio. Reach him at jim.hillibish@cantonrep.com.

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